In India... If u Want your rights? Repeal the laws

India’s obsession with passing new laws to get rights really annoys me. Is it really tough to understand that we as humans already have rights? We don’t need state’s approval to have food or education. We don’t need a new law to practice our rights as long as we’re not hurting some other person’s rights. If I want to get educated or get food without hurting some other person’s rights, I can just go ahead and do it! Every time a new law is enacted, it is projected as if it is giving Indians some new “right to food” or “right to education” or “right to sell stuff on streets”. However, in reality it only takes away the rights of others in some manner. Let me discuss two recent laws which annoy me the most.

1.   “Right to Food Act”

Really? Do you see the name used to popularize the act among people? It is actually named “National Food Security Act, 2013”. In reality, neither does this bill give you a “right to food” nor does it “secure food for the nation”. If we read the bill we will see clearly that it subsidizes food for 75% of rural and 50% of urban population. Who comprises that is left for the government to decide. Nevertheless, let us remind ourselves that government does not have any money of its own which it uses to subsidize things. It acquires most of its funds through indirect taxes. Indirect taxes suck up a higher percentage of an economically poorer person’s income when compared to an economically richer person. So in short, this law taxes the poorer and subsidizes the food for the richer. It is increasing the income disparity among the rich and poor under the pretext of the famous “reducing the gap between rich and poor”. Also, the cost at which rice, wheat and millet is being promised under the act is far less than the actual market cost of these foods. So, producing these costs more than what selling them costs and the whole country is bearing the loss. Oh! And do not say its subsidized, coz as mentioned above; you now know how subsidy works. With proposed reforms in the Public Distribution System (PDS) and formation of the State Food Commissions to ensure that the act is implemented, the cost of implementation of this act on paper is estimated to be $22 Billion (1.25 lac crore rupees). Well, that’s what is ‘on paper’. We all know how things work in India. There is one system which is intended to be and then there is another which actually is.

2.  “Right to Education Act”

“Yay! So now we have a ‘right’ to education.” Period! This act is actually named “The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act”. Firstly, what can be ‘free’ and ‘compulsory’? By ‘free’ it surely does not mean that children are free to opt or not opt for it, it means without money. If you continue to believe in the word ‘free’ education, ‘free’ health care etc. after reading above how subsidies work in India, please spare me and do not read this article any further. The education under this act is not only ‘subsidized’ but also ‘compulsory’! So you might be put behind bars if you opt out of it! You have to get your children educated. This reminds me of a case I heard from a friend where a Russian who was detained by the Soviet Union was released years later when he grew old and the reason for his release was that he no longer can work and contribute to the country so he is no more the property of Soviet Union. I see the same principle applied here. So, people are the property of the state? A state who can force compulsory education on them on the pretext that they cannot decide what is good for them. We all know a government is not made of some super intelligent experienced people who have all the good intentions to work for people. They’re rather people like you and me who desire a living and have a family to feed. The only difference being that those men are power hungry. And does that make them eligible enough so that they can leave no room for choice by poor people and impose what they feel is right? As far as child labor is concerned, it is worthy to note how child labor came to an end in America. It is a flawed analogy that if we force children to go to school, they won’t be able to work and thus we reduce child labor. Rather, children who have to work will anyways work, now, in poorer conditions in hiding with threat to their and their parent’s lives and with bribing for survival. Conditions for them are now worse! Well, that was my rant over just the title of the bill. Now let’s look within. The act makes it mandatory for the private schools to reserve 25% seats for ‘disadvantaged’ children. Although constitutionality of this clause is being debated in the Supreme Court but I have little faith on it being removed as the Solicitor General and the Additional Solicitor general argue in favor of this clause saying that this is in line with the basic structure of the socialist scheme of the constitution. When lawyers advocate socialism in courts, how much of individual freedom can we expect from the system? I don’t understand how lawyers employed by the government are expected to fight for justice even though it maybe against the government. Will you fight a case against your employer? Or, if you want to, will you continue to be in employment? Isn’t this simple logic? Anyway, why is 25% reservation is private schools a problem? They have such high fee after all! For people who don’t know, in India you can’t run a school or a College ‘for profit’. At least, legally! Also of course if a class which had 100 students paying for the education, now has only 75 students paying with rest 25 free loader students. So who do you think is going to pay for those 25 kids’ education? Charity is good but is it moral enough to mandate charity on people even if they don’t wish to do it? Let me make one more thing really very clear here and now. Since I’m against forcing people paying for some unknown kids’ education, it does not mean that I want those kids to remain uneducated for life. Please see the difference here, I only mean that this is not the right way to get them education. Most people who are ‘for’ such education welfare schemes are actually ‘for’ it because they think the poorer children should also have an opportunity to get educated. I too think so. But the “Right to Education” Bill closes other doors of such opportunity for these kids. When I say “private school”, most people imagine the big expensive private schools with huge fields and classrooms equipped with the most modern technologies. Very few would know that there are “small budget private schools” in our country and under our “right to education” laws these schools are illegal. These schools are illegal because they cannot meet the standards which a private school should have under government laws. So, our fantastic education laws first prohibit small budget schools from operating, then mandate big expensive private schools to have 25% reservation or the poorer kids. Not only that, most poorer kids who want to get educated can avail education only in the Government schools of their locality which might be having the standard playing grounds, numbers of tables and chairs but definitely not so good teachers, in fact, let me say that clearly, bad teachers. What I don’t get is people’s obsession with passing new laws. New laws are not the solution. Repealing the old ones is. If you want a right, see what is prohibiting it and just get rid of it. I think almost every Bollywood fan would have hummed this song from Rockstar but did you ever actually get into the ] lyrics where it says:

“Marzi se jeene ki bhi main
Kya tum sabko arzi dun
Matab ki tum sabka mujhpe
Mujhse bhi zada haq hai”

Come on people, you can’t deny the fact that you own yourselves coz you do and you know it. As long as you are peacefully living your life, no one has the right to decide things for you and similarly you do not have the right to decide things for others. As far as making mistakes in life is concerned, everyone does that. When you or I make a wrong decision if affects our lives. But when a politician or a policy makes a wrong decision and imposes it on others, it ruins many lives. People in the government are like you and me and they too make mistakes. It’d be smarter to let individuals take decisions for themselves and make mistakes which affect them rather than trying to protect them and giving power to one person (who we call representative) to make mistake on all of us’ behalf. Remember your teenage and remind yourselves.

“There is no freedom if you do not have the freedom to make mistakes.”

the Pre election effects on Indian market

Since early February, the BSE Sensex has risen by more than 11 per cent level, taking an already inflated index to record highs. The Bombay Stock Exchange that experienced one rally between August-end last year and January-end this year (which delivered a 19 per cent rise in the Sensex), has witnessed another bull run (Chart 1). Given the nature of this market, it does not taken rocket science to establish that the surge in the index is because of a spike in investor demand for the limited amount of actively traded stocks.

If financial investors are seen as even vaguely rational, this would be surprising. Rising equity values imply that investors are expecting the returns from the underlying assets to rise sharply. But all other indicators point to flagging demand, a deceleration in growth and a profit squeeze. Once again, with a vengeance, the stock market seems to be daring the real economy to go against its predictions and take a turn for the worse from its already sagging levels.

As is normal, in search of explanations for these contrary trends in the “markets”, on the one hand, and the real economy, on the other, analysts have been grabbing at straws. The weakest of them is the argument that expectations that a stable government with a business friendly Prime Minister will be delivered by the elections in April and May, is driving investors to grab stocks of firms that would profit from the coming boom.

Underlying even this explanation is the presumption that the bull run the market is experiencing is driven by speculation. Speculation about the outcome of the election. Speculation about the nature of the next government. And speculation that when that government does what it is expected to do, profits would rise enough to warrant the high valuations. Despite these extremely tenuous grounds, the explanation of why the ‘market’ is behaving as it is implicitly justifies its irrational exuberance.

There are many reasons why the final outcome, let alone the sequence of events leading up to it, may not coincide with expectations. To start with, though the psephologists are near unanimous in predicting a one-sided result, the election outcome may be more divided, throwing up another government that cannot wantonly reward Indian business as markets expect it to do. Second, even if a government with a comfortable majority is formed, the task of addressing the current stagflationary tendencies in the economy is unlikely to prove easy. Pushing growth with government spending and transfers to the private sector could aggravate inflation. On the other hand, attempts to rein in inflation may dampen growth further. Finally, there is no evidence that any government that is likely to come to power will deviate from the UPA’s neoliberal economic agenda, which does seem to have generated the current growth slow down and the associated cost-push inflation. So reversing the downturn would require more than just ‘any’ change in government.

If expectations are belied, a collapse of the current bubble is inevitable. As noted earlier, the current spike in markets began from index levels that were already high, which is why it took just a few days for the index to cross its previous record high. Clearly there are many investors rushing into the market believing that the boom would last long enough for the to book profits. That could prove true for some time. But, when the euphoria is shown to be what it is, the market can experience a sudden and sharp downturn as it has often in the past.

What then is the real cause for the current irrational rally. One is that India is a beneficiary of a continuing search for speculative profits on the part of international finance. In the month of March 2014, for example, net FII inflows totalled more than Rs.20,000 crore, which was close to the Rs.22,168 crore in May 2013, and well above the previous peak of Rs.15,706 crore in October 2013. But it was clearly not just FIIs who were rushing into the market, and driving the index. The band of domestic investors too included a fair share of speculators. The herd instinct keeps them all going.

However, there is one difference between the current trend and what was witnessed during much of the period when “Quantitative easing” in the US and elsewhere was injecting large volumes of cheap liquidity into internal markets. During those years, most emerging markets (barring those with special problems) were recipients of cross-border capital flows and experienced buoyancy in their equity markets. This time around, with the Federal Reserve’s decision to taper its easy money policy having reduced liquidity injection and threatening to raise interest rates, investors seem more selective. In Asia, Thailand and South Korea (besides India) are experiencing buoyancy in markets (Chart 2), whereas Malaysia is not. Elsewhere, the US S&P 500 has gained more than 25 per cent since December, whereas Brazil’s Bovespa and Russia’s Micex have experienced large losses. With less liquidity around investors are targeting particular countries, but can shift attention on the flimsiest grounds. That makes the speculative bubble fragile.

It needs noting that gains in India’s markets have been significantly larger than in other “successful” emerging markets. This may not be unrelated to the elections. Not because the hope of a stable government the election holds enthuses investors. Rather, funds for financing elections could indeed be transferred to some recipients through purchases of shares at inflated prices. It could be possible that “illicit” money being brought back to the country to fund election expenses is being routed through the market. There is no evidence or proof of this. But if true, it imparts some rationality to market behaviour. 

China and Pakistan will get a more muscular India if Modi wins Prime Minister election

                                         

India will get tougher on territorial disputes with China and in its old rivalry with Pakistan if opposition leader Narendra Modi becomes the prime minister in May after a general election, two of his aides said.

Modi, a Hindu nationalist who is the front-runner to win the five-week election starting on April 7, has taken an aggressive tone against the two neighbouring nations. On the campaign trail, he has warned Beijing to shed its “mindset of expansionism” and in the past he has railed against Pakistan for attacks by Muslim militants in India.

“I swear in the name of the soil that I will protect this country,” Modi said at a rally in Arunachal Pradesh last month, a region claimed by China.

India, China and Pakistan are all nuclear powers.They are also jockeying to take positions in Afghanistan as Western troops start to withdraw from the war-torn nation after a 12-year insurgency.

Modi has painted the Congress party, which has been in power for more than 50 of the 67 years since India became independent, as weak on national security. However, the country is one of the top buyers worldwide of military hardware, purchasing about $12.7 billion in arms during 2007-2011, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, everything from basic military goods to an aircraft carrier.

Modi’s two advisers said that while his foreign policy would be muscular, it would also aim to keep a lid on regional tensions to allow a focus on reviving the economy.

“Ours will be an economy-driven foreign policy and the whole idea is to build India’s economy so solidly that you can deal with other countries on our own terms,” said a strategist involved in formulating the manifesto of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

As leader of the economic-powerhouse state of Gujarat for more than a decade, Modi has courted investment from China. As prime minister, the advisers say, he would seek to steer a course between defending India’s security interests and growing business links with the world’s second-biggest economy.

Modi has never clearly spelled out his foreign policy vision, but he has praised former BJP prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee – who ordered a series of nuclear tests in 1998 – for adopting a strategy based on both ‘Shakti’ and ‘Shanti’, Sanskrit for power and peace.

“The Chinese will understand the new PM is not a wimp and they won’t do anything adventurous,” the BJP strategist said.

Hundreds of intrusions

According to India, China has made hundreds of intrusions along their disputed border in recent years. China denies crossing into Indian territory. Adding to disquiet in India are China’s forays into the Indian Ocean and its involvement in building a string of ports stretching from Pakistan’s Gwadar to Chittagong in Bangladesh.

The BJP wants a rapid naval build-up and a firmer response to border violations. It also plans to speed up construction of roads and communication lines along the land border to narrow the gap with China’s infrastructure on the Tibetan plateau.

The advisers, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the BJP’s manifesto is still under wraps, said Modi would move quickly to lay out India’s core security interests in its neighbourhood, replacing what they dismissed as a reactive policy under the Congress party.

Topping the list will be an early settlement of the border dispute with China, an assertion of India’s primacy in the Indian Ocean, and a low tolerance of Muslim militancy that India believes is often backed by Pakistan.

“You will see a more nationalistic approach on issues relating to terrorism in our neighbourhood. It is a much more hard view of these things,” said one of the advisers.

Outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has pushed for peace with Pakistan, and had hoped to visit his birthplace in Pakistan’s Punjab province in a final gesture of reconciliation before leaving office.

But his efforts were stymied by opposition at home over Islamabad’s failure to act against those India holds responsible for masterminding a 2008 attack on the city of Mumbai in which 166 people were killed by 10 gunmen from Pakistan.

Rajiv Dogra, a former Indian ambassador to Pakistan, expects a more forceful policy under a BJP government, both because of domestic pressure and an uncertain regional environment as the United States pulls out troops from Afghanistan.

“So far there has been a consensus in India – irrespective of the complexion and change in government – on the broad foreign policy contours,” he said. “But this time, if there is a change in government, I do expect a break from that tradition.”

What are the plans of Modi if he becomes prime minister

                                                                           

Speaking of his priorities if and when he comes to power Modi said, "What should be the priority after forming a government is clear in my head. I have a commitment. Our priority is the poor, the youth, women, farmers and jawans. Lal Bahadur Shastri had said 'Jai jawan jai kisan'. The way farmers are committing suicide and jawans being beheaded it seems like Congress' slogan is 'mar jawan mar kisan.

Election 2014 : A digital guide to voting

Elections 2014: A digital guide to voting

With just a few weeks remaining for the start of the elections, it's time for all of us to take stock of the situation. If you don't know how to vote, how to register, or even whom to vote for, then there is a lot of information that is now readily available on the Internet.

As we've noted earlier, the number of new voters that are going to be participating in this election is sizeable enough to swing constituencies. And a Google India survey released in October 2013 found that 37% of the registered voters in urban areas are getting their news online more than offline,

Congress Report Card - List of A to Z scams in congress governance

                        

List of Scams – In India

India is considered as the largest democracy in the world. But still it is not free from corruption and scandals. A few politicians and big business houses join hands and rob the hard earned money of these citizens to generate enormous amount of wealth. To generate this wealth, such scams take place which the citizens cannot even think of. All major scams since 2003 are listed below:

List of Scams:

A — Ardarsh Scam

B — Bofors Scam

C — CWG Scam

D — Devas-Antrix Scam

E — Employee Guarantee Scheme Scam

F — Fodder scam, Food Security Bill Scam

G — Ghaziabad Provident Fund Scam

H — Harshad Mehta Stock Market scam, Hasan Ali Hawala Scam

I — IPL Scam

J — Junior Basic Trained Teachers’ Recruitment Scam

K — Ketan Parekh Stock Market Scam

L — LIC Housing Scam

M — Madhu Koda Scam

N — Non-banking Financial Companies Scam

O — Oriental Bank Scam

P — Punjab State Council of Education, Research and Training Scam

Q — Quest for Gold Scam

R — Ration Card Scam, Rafale Jet Fighter Procurement Scam

S — Satyam Scam, Fire Prone Submarine Scam

T — Telecom 2G Scam, Temple Collection Scam, Congress President Travel Budget Scam

U — UTI Scam, UBS Illegal Accounts Scam

V — Volkswagen Equity Scam, Vadra DLF Scam

W — West Bengal Telecom Scam, Westland Helicopter Scam

X, Y, Z  still counting

India Scams – 2013

2013-Agusta Westland Chopper Deal Scam
2013-Vodafone Tax Scandal
2013-Saradha Group Chit Fund Scam
2013-Railway promotion Scam
2013-The Rs 5,500-Crore Scam

India Scams – 2012

2012-Salman Khursid Trust Fraud- Scam
2012-Robert Vadra-DLF Scam
2012-Maharashtra Irrigation Scam
2012-Kinetic Finance Limited Scam
2012-Ultra Mega Power Projects Scam
2012-IGI airport Scam
2012-Andhra Pradesh Land Scam
2012-Forex Derivates Scam
2012-Granite Scam in Tamil Nadu
2012-Service Tax and Central Excise Duty Fraud
2012-Gujarat PSU financial irregularities
2012-Maharashtra Stamp Duty Scam
2012-Maharashtra land scam
2012-MHADA Repair Scam
2012-Highway scam
2012-Ministry of External Affairs Gift Scam
2012-Himachal Pradesh Pulse Scam
2012-Flying Club Fraud – 190 Crore
2012-Andhra Pradesh Liquor Scam
2012-Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association Scam
2012-Punjab Paddy Scam
2012-NHPC Cement Scam
2012-Haryana Forest Scam
2012-Uttar Pradesh Stamp Duty Scam
2012-Uttar Pradesh Horticulture Scam
2012-Uttar Pradesh Palm Tree Plantation Scam
2012-Patiala Land Scam
2012-Bengaluru Mayor’s Fund Scam
2012-Tax Refund Scam
2012-Coal Mining Scam

India Scams -2011

2011-ISRO Spectrum Allocation Scam
2011-Goa mining scam
2011-Hasan Ali Khan scandal
2011-Noida Corporation farm land scandal
2011-Indian Black Money in Swiss Banks
2011-Bellary mines scandal
2011-Bain India incident
2011-BL Kashyap EPFO Scam

India Scams – 2010

2010-IPL fraud involving swine called Lalit Modi option was worth?
2010-Commonwealth Games loot is worth?

India Scams – 2009

2009-Jharkhand Medical equipment scam was worth Rs 130 Crores
2009-Rice export scam was worth Rs 2500 Crores
2009-Orissa Mine scam was worth Rs 7000 Crores
2009-Madhu Koda scam was worth Rs 4000 Crores

India Scams – 2008

2008-Pune Billionaire Hasan Ali tax default scam was worth Rs 50,000 Crores
2008-Satyam Scam was worth Rs 10.000 Crores
2008-Army Ration Pilferage Scam was worth Rs 5000 Crores
2008-2G Spectrum Scam was worth Rs 60.000 Crores
2008-State Bank of Saurashtra Scam was worth Rs 95 Crores
2008-Illegal money in Swiss Bank is worth Rs 71, 00,000 Crores

India Scams- 2006

2006-Punjab’s city centers project scam
2006-Taj Corridor Scam was worth 175 Crores

India Scams – 2005

2005-IPO Demat Scam was worth Rs 146 Crores
2005-Bihar food relief Scam was worth 17 crores
2005- Scorpene submarine Scam was worth Rs 18,978 crores

India Scams – 2004

2004-Gegong Apang PDS scam

India Scams – 2003

2003-Telgi Stamp paper Scam was worth Rs 172 Crores

Why Rahul Gandhi should not be the Prime Minister of India

Political career of Rahul Gandhi:

Rahul Gandhi’s entrée in politics had been initiated in the May 2004 Lok Sabha elections, when he had contested from his father Rajiv Gandhis’s former constituency of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. The seat was originally held by his mother Sonia Gandhi, who had shifted to the adjacent constituency of Rae Bareilly. The condition of the Congress party in Uttar Pradesh had been deplorable then, covering only a meager 10 out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats. The move had come as a big surprise for the political analysts, who had always speculated the charismatic sister, Priyanka, as the inevitable choice to the political heirloom. The general feeling of the rank and regime of the Congress party had been that, the youthful face of the youngest Gandhi generation might be instrumental in the restitution of the Party’s popularity amongst the youths of the country. Rahul Gandhi had emerged as a winner, marked by a landslide victory. However, till 2006 he had held no important portfolio. Other important political roles of Rahul Gandhi worth mentioning had been the joint campaign with his sister Priyanka Gandhi, for Sonia Gandhi’s reelection in Rae Bareilly in 2006. He had also featured in the Congress campaigns for the 2007 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Following this, Rahul Gandhi was appointed as the General Secretary for the All India Congress in September 2007.  He was vested with the simultaneous charges of the National Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India in 2008. In January 2013 he was coroneted as the Vice President of the Congress Party, a post only second to the Party President and his mother Sonia Gandhi. This, in brief, is the political career of Rahul Gandhi, from which it is evident that he had earned nothing in his political career. On the contrary, all the achievements that are tagged to him had been handed over to him in a plate by his shrewd mother, in an effort to make him eligible for higher political goals.

                                          

The concept – ‘Rahul as Prime Minister’:

The idea of Rahul Gandhi as the future Prime Minister of India was first advocated by the senior Congress Leader Veerappa Moily, during the present Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s trip abroad in 2012. Salman Khurshid, a dedicated mouthpiece of the Gandhi dynasty, had further fuelled such ideas claiming that, Rahul Gandhi has the grit to implement policies that are the need of the present day India. While senior Congress leaders like Moily and Khurshid have recently been vocal about the issue – ‘Rahul as PM’, it had always been the master plan of the Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi, which is why she was instrumental in elevating the position of her son, Rahul Gandhi, up the rungs of the Congress Party ladder. The low political cunning of Sonia Gandhi had failed to capture the better political prospects of the charismatic daughter Priyanka. She is also acutely aware of the fact that nothing lasts forever, not even the Gandhi dynasty. Especially in the light of her failing health and the crushing defeat of the Congress Party in the last Assembly Elections, she is further apprehensive of the power slipping through her fingers like a fistful of sand. So, as the President of the Party, this is her last valiant enterprise to salvage the sinking Congress Party and, in doing so, she had to move the only chess piece she had got left on the board. That piece is Rahul Gandhi and the move is a desperate attempt to checkmate and win the match for the Congress Party by projecting Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2014 elections.

                                   

An important controversy surrounding the Gandhi family:

There are many controversies surrounding the Gandhi family. However, the most well known and implicating controversy is the existence of a Swiss Bank Account in the name of Rahul Gandhi holding the whopping amount of 2.5 billion Swiss Francs controlled by Sonia Gandhi with authorizations to make payments in US dollars to Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Miss Paola Maino (mother of Sonia Gandhi). Such controversies are further bolstered by the unraveling of the KGB files of the erstwhile USSR and reconfirmed by the revelations in the book, ‘The State Within A State’ by the Russian Harvard Scholar Yevgenia Albats and the Swiss news – magazine Schweizer Illustrierte. While such facts had been widely covered by both the national and the international media, there had been no protests against this issue from the ranks of the Gandhi family till date, nor had any litigations suits been filed discrediting such claims. So Mr. Rahul Gandhi, how do you plan to explain that?

                                                              

Rahul Gandhi as a man and an aspiring politician – an analysis:

Let us start with what Rahul Gandhi thinks of himself as the Prime Ministerial candidate of the Congress Party. Strangely enough, unless push comes to shove, Rahul Gandhi stoically refrains from discussing this status, let alone comment on it. Now, is not that highly surprising that, an individual with the searing aspirations of becoming the leader of a nation refuses to talk about it?

Let us now consider the contributions of Rahul Gandhi towards the betterment of the country in any field – political, cultural, social or economical. If the readers have any information on this, please let me know because as far as my efforts go, I have only managed to draw an absolute blank!

A closer look at the personality of Rahul Gandhi reveals certain aspects of his character that definitely go against his claims to fame as the future Prime Minister of India. There are times when, I feel that, Rahul Gandhi never had any well defined political aspiration. When the UPA II Government was formed, if he really wanted to join politics, any ministry he wanted was up for his grabs. Like his coequals, namely Omar Abdullah or Jyotiraditya Scindia, he could have embarked on a proper political career, holding a ministerial portfolio and making his bones as a true politician in the real time politics of the nation. When he had every chance of proving himself as a politician, he had consciously evaded such responsibilities which further highlight his escapist attitude towards a political career. On the contrary, he had chosen the Youth Congress as his playground, not even a cheap imitation of the real time political scenario of the nation.

His escapism is further highlighted by the fact that, being the Vice – President of the Party that forms the majority in the ruling Government, he has done nothing to improve the conditions of the population of India, a third of which is beleaguered by poverty and other dehumanizing conditions. He has no contribution in solving the serious issues plaguing the country like the Maoist problems, Muslim fundamentalist terrorism that is tearing the country apart or promoting bilateral relations with the neighboring countries like Pakistan and China that is under heavy stress. Where was he when the Finance Minister P Chidambaram was fighting the economic uncertainties looming over the country? Let alone contribute, he has not even made a single comment ever, on such issues. The only two instances where he had been able to capture the attention of the media were, once when he had delivered a speech in the Parliament (read it out of a sheet of paper actually) in favor of the constitutional status of the Lokpal Bill and, once when he had openly criticized the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh for advocating a bill that nullified Supreme Court’s verdict of prohibiting convicted criminals from contesting in elections.

   

Why Rahul Gandhi should not be the Prime Minister of India?:

In the light of all these discussions, I personally feel that, Rahul Gandhi is the proverbial ‘unwilling horse’. He may have taken a plunge into active politics, but in all probabilities, that is an act goaded by a sick mother and pushed by the demands of the Congress rank and regime. His whole approach is half – hearted and can be best described as lackadaisical. It is to be mentioned here that, the same rank and regime, that is screaming for the Prime Ministerial candidature of Rahul Gandhi, deluded by the fact that the youthful face of the youngest Gandhi generation, might be instrumental in reinvigorating the position of the Party in the country, will inevitably revolt against the nonexistent leadership qualities of Rahul Gandhi, if he ever manages to become the leader of the nation.

Being an educated man, Rahul Gandhi is not dumb and well aware of his limitations. He definitely considers the commitments of active politics too heavy a burden to shoulder or else he would not have waited so long for his official induction into politics. As I personally visualize him, he is a man who would rather bask in the reflected glory of his family title and heritage (which incidentally is also fading), under the protective wings of her mother, sampling the political limelight at his will, playing the role of the eternal minor, while the Prime Minister Manmohan plays ‘Singh is King’. Probably that is why the Youth Congress is his favorite and most comfortable amusement park where according to the media, he had been proactive in democratizing the party ranks.

Now here is a man who is the Vice – President of the Congress Party, that forms a majority in the ruling UPA II Government. Given his position in the Party, he doesn’t give a damn about the country he lives in, has never even lifted a finger at times of crisis of his country, has enough black money stashed away in Swiss Bank accounts to last two lifetimes, a man whose political achievements can be written down behind a matchbox (there would still be space left!) and a political career like a piece of paper that has just gone through the shredder. Added to these are a severe attitude problem, stemming from deep-rooted emotional and psychological disorders, little or no connection to the public, severely limited communication abilities with the public and the Party workers and long absenteeism from the political scenario of the nation. I leave a question for the readers. Would you, in your sane mind, vote for such a person for being the Prime Minister of India? Definitely, I will not.

Conclusion:

Being the Prime Minister of a country is an incredibly difficult task, not only the final responsibility of the nation rests on the Prime Minister’s shoulder, he is answerable to the population of the nation for any untoward action and he also becomes the chief representative of the country in the global perspective. The only factor that goes in the favor of Rahul Gandhi’s Prime Ministerial candidature is his breed, his lineage or his title, whatever one decides to dub it. As far as I know, the breed factor works well in choosing primates, but definitely such factor cannot cut out a world class leader for a nation. Everybody knows Rahul Gandhi as the pampered son of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, but nobody has any clue as to what he can do for the betterment of the country if he is chosen as the leader.

The 29th state of India : After the blood shed of century

After years of struggle, and several rounds of agitation, Telangana is set to come into being — as the 29th State of India. That some pain and suffering would accompany the bifurcation was, perhaps, inevitable; but a great deal of the violence and acrimony could have been avoided had the Congress and the Central government acted with greater sensitivity and understanding of the hopes and fears of the peoples in the two regions. But now is the time to look ahead, and try and fulfil the aspirations of the people of 

Telangana and allay the apprehensions of those of Seemandhra, or the residual Andhra Pradesh state. The residual state is to get special category status for the purpose of Central assistance, and its backward regions will be eligible for a special development package. But concerns still persist about the security of lives and livelihoods of non-Telangana people in Hyderabad, which will be the joint capital of both the states for 10 years. The decision to invest special law and order powers in the Governor to ensure the safety of the residents of Hyderabad goes some way in addressing the apprehensions of those from 

Seemandhra seen as “outsiders” in the capital. But doubts have been raised about the propriety of such an arrangement: whether an appointee of the Centre who is not democratically elected by the people of either state could have control over what is essentially a state subject. This arrangement is a compromise between designating Hyderabad as a Union Territory (as demanded by those representing Seemandhra) and making it the capital of Telangana alone. The model is that of Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, where the Administrator-cum-Punjab Governor and the Adviser to the Administrator are in charge of law and order. In effect, Hyderabad will be akin to a union territory like Chandigarh in the matter of handling of law and order.

While the creation of Telangana draws the curtains on a long struggle for statehood, disputes and conflicts over sharing of resources and reallocation of personnel loom ahead. The creation of a new capital for the residual state will in no way limit the interests of the people of Seemandhra on Hyderabad, which has drawn investments from people of both regions. There could have been no solution that was agreeable to both sides, but the Centre could have worked out some compromises in consultation with all the stakeholders instead of imposing a reorganisation that merely defers the problems to a later date. Although politically the Congress appears to have put all its eggs in the Telangana basket, the Centre must ensure that the concerns of the Seemandhra people are addressed satisfactorily. Financial packages alone would not solve the problems.

SOURCE : The Hindu

A black day for Indian politics, knife and pepper spray in the house

The mystery over the hurried adjournment of the Lok Sabha has been solved. Suspended Congress MP L Rajagopal who was standing in the well of the house, took out a bottle of pepper spray and had sprayed it all around the house, leading to the adjournment of the house. This has got to be a first. Meanwhile Firstpost editor Sandip Roy had this perspective:

"I'm too anguished and I'm too much in
pain. I am going to have consultation on what has to be done. This has shamed us. Our Parliamentary democracy is admired across the world. Today what has happened is a blot", speaker Meira Kumar said.
MeanwhileCPI member Gurudas Dasgupta has demanded the arrest of L Rajagopal, who used pepper spray inside the Lok Sabha. Many other MPs are also demanding his immediate
The news that is trickling out of Parliament is getting weirder and weirder. As if the pepper spray attack was not bad enough, now it turns out that TDP MP Venugopal had a knife on him as well, but had been held back by MPs.
Meanwhile BJP MP Tarun Vijay tweeted, "Still inside the House, Members shocked, bewildered, stunned and feel sad. Will govt take action against L Rajagopal, very very rich MP?"
Another tweet read, "L Rajagopal is said to have given blows in side House to a fellow Cong MP Yakshi from Andhra, a highly sophisticated gentleman, he is."

Lok Pal bill passed in Delhi cabinet. What tomorrow???

The Delhi cabinet has cleared the Jan Lokpal Bill and it will now be tabled on Thursday despite the Centre's opposition. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will also seek the sense of the House during a special outdoor Assembly session on the February 16. The passing of the Jan Lokpal Bill was one of the poll promises of the Kejriwal governemnt and it was planing to hold an open session at Indira Gandhi stadium and even invited the public for it.

CNN-IBN has accessed a few key portion of the bill and the draft is similar to the Uttarakhand Lokpal bill but with a few additions. The Chief Minister will be under the Jan Lokpal and other public leaders too. The judiciary will remain out of the ambit of the Jan Lokpal.

 Law Ministry likely to agree with L-G's stand on Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill

Earlier in the day, government sources told CNN-IBN that the Law Ministry is likely to agree with the Lieutenant Governor's stand that the Centre's nod is required for the bill to be tabled. The Delhi High Court has also sought a response from the Delhi government on whethere there is a provision to hold an Assembly session.

A few days ago, Kejriwal had threatened to quit if the Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed. He had said, "If the Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed then there is no reason I should be the Chief Minister. I am ready to sacrifice the chair of Chief Minister to free the country from corruption."

What is the reason for the failure, is it congress party or Rahul Gandhi

In school, I remember being part of a play called 'The Emperor's New Clothes'. The plot revolved around a king who was tricked into believing that he was wearing a special outfit when in fact he was naked. His sycophants complimented him for his wonderful choice of clothing. When the Emperor went out on the street, scared commoners praised the invisible suit. Finally, an innocent little kid screamed: "Look, the Emperor has no clothes!"

The one loud sentence sent the entire town into shock. However, since it was the truth, nobody could deny it anymore. And eventually, the Emperor came back to his senses.

The Congress desperately needs the kid who could stand up at an AICC national convention and shout: "Look! Rahul Gandhi is not working at all!" One can almost predict the silence in the auditorium thereafter, akin to the silence in the town square. The first reaction would be denial, or even attacking the person who said it. Better still, label this columnist elitist, biased, paid, bigoted, idiot, evil, ignorant or any other negative adjective that comes to mind. However, as the Enrique song goes — you can run, you can hide but you can't escape my love (in this case, the truth).

This truth is particularly bitter because the Congress has little idea on how to fix the problem . As many say, if the family doesn't work, what is the Congress? Right now, the party hasn't done much besides cashing in on the Gandhi family's legacy.

In fact, it has used the family name to hide incompetence and even abused it to cover up scams. The family brand is so depleted that there isn't much legacy left anymore. The young generation doesn't know what to make of them. Should they associate the Gandhi family with sacrifice, or see them as people who keep silent and help cover up corruption? Are the Gandhis interested in making Indian lives better, or merely self-preservers ? What is the answer? It is all a big confusing mess, and youngsters see no reason why the surname means the party deserves their vote. The results are there for all to see.

The bigger issue is: how to restore the legacy ? Well, when a legacy has been destroyed, you either restore it, or build a new one. It will serve the Congress better if it does both. One, it needs to restore the Gandhi family's pride. For this, they have to become relevant to the times. The world has changed. The overload of media, connectivity and content means scrutiny levels are way higher than before. Integrity can no longer be feigned. Clever words or even calculated silences, if faked, backfire. Rahul doesn't have to talk about being honest and caring; he has to become honest and caring. If there is a new Rahul possible, we need to see him, and soon. Senior people need to be publicly humiliated and fired in the Congress — not those who lost an election, but those who destroyed the legacy. A good anti-corruption law needs to be passed, not a fake one. Rahul needs to apologize for hiding when the nation needed him. He has to show he cares for India. He has to frankly, not only become a good politician, but also a good human being. In the current climate — goodness is the new cool. He needs to talk, give interviews , get shamed even, but plow through it all and deliver despite that. The Gandhis of today need to own up to mess-ups and mistakes. They need to work day and night to fulfill the dreams of the youth. They have to stop raiding the state treasury to win last-minute votes. They have to become the 'ideals' for the nation. Are they up for it?

Two, the Congress will also have to create new legacies. Power has to move to a consortium of the best performers. The family can be the moral centre, but not the power centre. Top performing CMs, MPs and ministers must get the limelight they deserve. The family should step back and highlight others. This way more Congresspersons get noticed and the party has a broader leadership.

These are not easy tasks, but not impossible either. The bigger issue is does the Congress want to rebuild itself ? More than anything, does the Emperor have the courage to listen to the kid who is right?

BY CHETAN BHAGAT

A major step, A website by election commission.

Dr. Nasim Zaidi, Election Commissioner of India, on Friday launched the website http://indiavoting.org/ to bring voter registration at the doorstep of Corporate India in order to overcome urban voter apathy and increase voter turnout on election day. Speaking at the ‘Voter Awareness and Registration Initiative Launch Ceremony’ organized by FICCI, Election Commission of India (ECI) with Centre for Ethical Life and Leadership (CELL) and NASSCOM, Dr. Zaidi pointed out that gender gap in registration and voter turnout, urban apathy to electoral participation and youth disconnect with the electoral process have emerged as the biggest challenges. To combat these issues, he suggested that creating awareness, motivating people to participate in the electoral process and facilitating and easing out the process for registration were some of the ways to increase voter turnout. Dr. Zaidi said that the Systematic Voter Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) wing of the Election Commission commenced work in late 2009. The wing formulates policies, lays down the framework, plan interventions and monitors implementation besides carrying out continuous discourse with the voting public, civil society groups and the media. It handles work related to all aspects of voters’ awareness and education aimed at improving electoral participation in the country and building up a culture of participative democracy among citizens. The Chief Election Commissioner of India, Mr. V S Sampath, whose message was read out in absentia, lauded the participation of the private sector to enhance electoral participation in the country. “There is hardly any cause that deserves a higher place in CSR. I always felt that a major contribution in the field of voter education and awareness is due from the vibrant and resourceful industrial and business houses. The action starts from home with registration and voting of their own staff and employees,” he said. Mr. Akshay Rout, Director General, Election Commission of India, said that the launch of the website will help in connecting India. With this initiative, the Election Commission and the corporate sector will work in an organized way which will also help in just reaching out to the youth who must be enrolled in a big way increase the overall voter turnout. Corporates can engage their resources to get into the community and motivate people to register and vote. He affirmed that there has been a continuous dialogue with India citizens by the Election Commission and other associate bodies and social cells to create awareness about voter facilitation in areas of registration and issuing voter identity cards. And now the corporate sector of India is also a part of this process. Dr. S Y Quraishi, Former Chief Election Commissioner and Honorary Chairman, CELL, said, “This exclusive collaborative initiative of FICCI, NASSCOM, Election Commission and CELL to accelerate voter registration will make a singular contribution to participatory democracy that Election Commission is proactively promoting. CELL’s initiative to enthuse Corporate India to become active participants in democratic process has been warmly welcomed. Their positive response is indeed heartening.” Mr. Sidharth Birla, President of FICCI, in his remarks, said that several reasons could be attributed to voter apathy, from bad governance, lack of voter trust and interest in political and electoral processes to low literacy rate.  He said the issues that need to be addressed for increasing voter awareness and participation are gender gap in registration and voter turnout, urban apathy to electoral participation, youth disconnect with the electoral process, participation of weaker sections and informed and ethical voting. On its part, FICCI has set up a Task Force on Electoral Reforms under the umbrella of the Inclusive Governance Council chaired by Dr. S.Y. Quraishi, Chairman, Center for Ethical Living and Leadership (CELL) and Former Chief Election Commissioner. One of the agenda items for this Task Force is to work towards increasing voter awareness and participation and also look at other aspects of electoral reforms. Aiming to widen the connect with the member organizations on increasing voter registration, FICCI  in collaboration with Centre for Ethical Life and Leadership (CELL) and Election Commission of India (ECI) is launching this awareness and registration campaign. The campaign aims to facilitate voter registration within the industry and sensitize its employees on the need to exercise their franchise. Mr. Birla said that this voter awareness and registration initiative will be carried out over the next few months in run up to the Lok Sabha elections. Mr. Saurabh Srivastava, Trustee, NASSCOM Foundation, said, “Urban and youth voter apathy are real issues and unfortunately, many of our three million IT-BPM employees relocate for their jobs thereby contributing to the gap. Therefore, we at NASSCOM and NASSCOM Foundation are proud and thrilled to partner with the Election Commission of India  to meaningfully engage our employees in their MyKartavya (duty) to participate in India's great democracy.”

Sunanda pushkar found dead in a five star hotel in Delhi

Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Union minister Shashi Tharoor, was found dead in a five-star hotel here on Friday.

Pushkar's body was found in room number 345 of Leela Hotel. The incident came to fore around 8pm after the hotel authorities informed the police.

The special commissioner of police Deepak Mishra confirmed about the incident. However police were yet to ascertain if it was a suicide. Further investigations are on. The room in which 52-year -old Pushkar was staying has been sealed by the police.

Pushkar had checked into the five star hotel on Thursday, police said. Sources said she was last seen at 3.30pm on Friday in the hotel lobby.

The housekeeping staff apparently knocked on Sunanda's door at 7pm but got no response. The hotel staff allegedly opened the room with another swipe card and found her dead on her bed, sources in south Delhi police told.

The authorities then contacted Shashi Tharoor after which the police were also informed. The police are yet to confirm this sequence of events officially. The police did not confirm if they have recovered a suicide note from the spot.

A team of officers has sought for the CCTV footages of the last 12 hours. A team is also going through the video footages at the hotel's control room.

The cops have sealed the entire 3rd floor of the hotel and have called in forensic experts to scan the spot. The experts have photographed and lifted evidence including figerprints from the rooms, bed and door handles. The entire investigation is being videographed.

The shocking news comes just a day after Sunanda and her husband Shashi Tharoor were involved in a Twitter controversy, also involving a Pakistani woman journalist, Mehr Tarar.

As the indecorous row surrounding the suave 57-year-old Tharoor escalated, the controversy-prone minister took to Twitter to come out with a joint statement with his wife Sunanda Pushkar to say they were "happily married", but distressed by "some unauthorised tweets".

"We wish to stress that we are happily married and intend to remain that way. Sunanda has been ill and hospitalised this week and is seeking rest. We would be grateful if the media respects our privacy," said the statement by Tharoor, who married Pushkar in 2010. The row erupted after exchange of some messages involving the three, some of them intimate.

"We are distressed by the unseemly controversy that has arisen about some unauthorised tweets from our twitter accounts," the diplomat-turned politician said.

Pushkar had accused the 45-year-old Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar of stalking her husband and trying to "break" her marriage when she was away for medical treatment.

Both Tharoor and Pushkar had married twice before. The minister of state for human resources development is a Congress Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram.